A Seer is Born
by Andromeda Khun
Summary: Sybill Trelawney lacks the confidence to become a true Seer, but a complication may solve that problem.


Author's Note

House/ Team: Eagles

Class: Care for Magical Creatures

Category: Standard  
Prompt: (Character) Sybill Trelawney

Word Count:1217

* * *

"If one has the Inner Eye, one needs nothing else," Grandmother Cassandra would always say. Sybill Trelawney heard this frequently, as according to family tradition, potential Seers were raised by another Seer. Unfortunately, this meant the last living Seer in the family, great-great grandmother Cassandra, was charged with raising twelve youngsters in her old age.

Yet, somehow Grandmother Cassandra managed to find time to nag and intimidate each one of them every day. Sybill was terrified of her. And today, it was her turn to prove to Grandmother that she was a Seer.

As Sybill pushed the door open, she mused, _Wouldn't it be great if I really were a Seer? Of course none of us here actually are. _She sighed, adjusted her thick glasses, then took a few trembling steps to the table.

Grandmother hunched over the other side of the table, face shadowed by a hood, her eyes shining from within. "Well," she snapped, "sometime today would be nice."

Sybill took a deep breath, then stared into the crystal ball on the table. Swirling fog formed indistinct shapes, then dissipated. Finally, the mists formed a peaked, triangular shape. Biting her lip, Sybill leaned forward, peering at it.

"W-well, I think… I think I see a pyramid? I'm not sure. It could be a roof or a sailboat, or it could just be fog… "

"Sybill," Grandmother Cassandra said, not unkindly, "you're almost eleven. If your Inner Eye has not developed in the past five years, you may not have the Sight."

A pit of dread opened in Sybill's stomach as Grandmother continued, "I used to think you had potential, but now I'm not so sure…"

Quickly, Sybill nodded then retreated the room. After closing the door, Sybill began walking back to her room, barely keeping herself from tears. Her footsteps beat a steady rhythm in the wooden hallway. _I-failed-I-failed..._

Although life at Grandmother's mansion was stressful, it was the only life she knew. If she didn't have the Sight, then she would have to return home. _And, _she thought, _my parents still aren't earning enough money to support me, especially because we're in the Great Wizarding Depression._

Sybill sighed. Perhaps if she were more assertive, more confident, more like _Grandmother_, she could _make _her Inner Eye work.

As she pulled open the door to her dorm, she immediately felt the weight of the other children's stares. They were in a tight huddle in the corner of the room. "Is something wrong?" she mumbled.

The other twelve potential Seers shook their heads, and began urgently whispering amongst themselves. Their words floated to Sybill as she sat on her bed.

"...Would it work…"

"...Who should try first…"

"Jumping? Why jumping?"

"Shhh. Sybill is _right there._"

The children fell silent, and glanced at Sybill. Then they started whispering once again. Sybill slowly walked to the window, and gazed at the distant mountains. Meanwhile, thoughts and suspicions whirled in her mind.

Of course, Sybill knew the subject of her dormmates' discussion. An idiot could have figured it out by now, especially with all the books they'd never bothered to hide. Books titled _Wizard Awakening _or _A Guide to Kindling Your Child's Magic. _

_How can they be so foolish? Are they really desperate enough to risk their lives for the Sight?_

Back in the Middle Ages, wizarding parents would subject their children to distress in order to unlock their magic. This distress could have been anything from verbal abuse to torture. However, the most typical way was dropping the child from a great height.

A familiar voice interrupted Sybill's speculation. "Let's do it today," it confidently piped.

Sybill started, then turned quickly, "W-wait. Today? You're actually going to do this?"

The group stared at her again, and Sybill shrank back. She swallowed, then whispered, "You have no idea if distress will awaken the Inner Eye. If your magic doesn't kick in, and you jump off the roof…"

"It's okay, sis, " A little girl declared, smiling up at Sybill, "My magic hasn't awakened yet, so it's more likely to help me."

Sybill shot a horrified look at the girl. "Maryann? _You're _going to do this too?!" Maryann beamed and nodded. "But Mom and Dad told me to take care of you…"

There was a short pause, then one of Sybill's cousins coughed, "Look, Sybill, you might not know this, but the rest of us are desperate to Awaken our Inner Eye."

"Yeah," another child chimed in, "the Great Wizarding Depression is happening right now. Our only option is to stay with Grandmother, but she won't let us stay unless we have the Sight."

With those words, the children quickly withdrew from the room, their footsteps pounding on the stairs. Stairs that lead to the roof.

And Sybill just stood there, mouthing the words, "Don't go…" Then reality hit her. _My cousins are about to kill themselves. And there's not even any proof that Sight can be Awakened._

She knew that Awakening was far more dangerous than her family believed. A couple nights ago, when Sybill had researched Awakening, she found that only thirty percent of the time, the children's magic would save them.

_But what can I do? I don't know any magic, I don't have the Sight, I don't even have any confidence. _She sank to the floor, thinking, _But what can I do? There's nothing that can stop this..._

Then she remembered Maryann. Her sister. Her only true family. A seven-year-old girl about to die.

And that was unacceptable. Without thinking, Sybill was on her feet and striding for the door. Seconds later, she walked onto the attic balcony, her heart pounding. If she was too late…

Frantically, Sybill looked around the balcony and the roof nearby. Blood-red clouds scudded across the sky, colored by the setting sun. The grass below was distant, and Sybill did not see anybody on the ground. Yet.

"Sybill's here!" someone hissed. She glanced up to the source of the sound, and saw her cousins on the roof.

"Why did you come?" "Leave us alone!" "You actually have the Sight!"

She shrank back at their calls. _I don't have the Sight. I don't have anything. _But when she saw her sister, Sybill knew she had to try. And the only weapon she had was... was… their belief in her Inner Eye.

Stepping forward confidently, she shouted, "I have looked in the future, and I have seen a horrible end! If you do not stop this, you will perish!"

Her words almost seemed to echo. Visibly shaken, the children on the roof quickly ran back into the mansion. As she watched them, Sybill felt the warm glow of power within her. All her life, she had been afraid of using the Sight, afraid of leading others astray. But maybe everything she thought or said was the Inner Eye whispering to her. And she would follow whatever it told her to say.

A few weeks later, her many cousins were sent away. Grandmother Cassandra had concluded that the new, confident Sybill was the Seer of the generation, and refused to see any other children. As Sybill watched her family leave, she knew that, although they may curse her name someday, although they may not see her as the hero, her lies-no, her Inner Eye- had saved them.


End file.
